Despite growth projections, IMF says Nigeria’s economy may ‘not be so lucky’

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria’s economy might not be so lucky despite the growth projections from various quarters.

Giving his opening remarks at the unveiling of the 2018 World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, Maurice Obstfeld, IMF’s chief economist, said commodity exporting countries will need to diversify their economies to boost further growth.

With a 0.8 percent growth signalling an exit from its 2016 recession, Nigeria’s economy is projected to grow by 2.1 percent in 2018.

“Emerging and developing economies present a diverse picture, and among those that are not commodity exporters, some can expect longer-term growth rates comparable to pre-crisis rates,” he said.

“Many commodity exporters will not be so lucky, however, despite some improvements in the outlook for commodity prices.

“Those countries will need to diversify their economies to boost future growth and resilience.”

The unveiled report attributed Nigeria’s growth projection to improved revenue and foreign exchange availability.

“In Nigeria, the economy is projected to grow 2.1 percent in 2018 and 1.9 percent in 2019 (up from 0.8 percent in 2017), reflecting improved oil prices, revenue, and production and recently introduced foreign exchange measures that contribute to better foreign exchange availability.”

Reduced crude oil prices had negatively impacted oil exporting economies and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reached an agreement to cut back supply to the market to jolt prices.

As at 5pm on Tuesday, Brent Crude, the international benchmark of crude oil, was trading at $71.28 per barrel.